Current events

[Núria Toril]

We're now at a stage where learning plays a central role. We live in the knowledge society. The twenty-first century is complex and education needs to be more demanding to adapt to social needs. Education needs to reach beyond content learning. We need to create skills, such as problem solving, creativity, the ability to work in a team, curiosity, innovation and lifelong learning.

Why the commitment to learning environments?

- Learning is a contextualisation phenomenon. We need to move away from the fragmentation of education and take a holistic approach to education.

- We need to make full use of the potential of the technological environment.

- When we talk about learning environments, we don't only mean schools. We also mean non-formal, informal and hybrid environments.

- We need to go beyond the vertical reference boundary based on system-school-class-teacher-learner as it's far too rigid, and doesn't encourage innovative alternatives. We need a commitment to the holistic approach to learning.

The international Innovation learning environment project

Has analysed 125 innovative cases from 25 countries. The first results have now been published: The nature of learning. Using research to inspire practice. The main conclusions about how education should be:

- Education should be central. We need to foster a commitment to learning. The learner needs to be aware that they are learning.

- Most of the time, social and collaborative learning is the most efficient.

- Emotions play a fundamental role in education: enjoyment, motivation, anxiety, anguish, feeling lost. To achieve effective learning, people need to feel motivated. Normally, cognitive development is fostered more than emotional development.

- We need to be aware of differences among learners. We need to take into account each learner's personal background.

- We need to get learners to make an effort, but without excessive pressure that could make them feel lost.

- Assessment is necessary but it must be consistent with our aims (with regard to the points above). Assessment must also have a bearing on the return of educational information (critical assessment).

- Horizontal connections inside and outside formal education are necessary (connections with other education environments outside school).

How do we achieve these milestones?

- We have to focus on the learner.

- It requires a high level of professionalism and leadership. Learning environments must be well structured and designed.

- Environments must be inclusive.

- Education should be social.

We need to commit to innovation and research. It is at meso level or intermediate level (between environments) where the most important changes can occur. That's why we have to work to create connections between educational environments, to network. We also have to work to ensure that the institutional environment is not in opposition to learning environments.

International research

David Istance led a team of international researchers whose task was to gather the existing knowledge regarding the nature of learning (based on the results provided by international research from the cognitive, emotional and biological perspective) and certain educational applications (group work, technologies, learning assessment, project work and learning in the family and community environment). The aim of this work was to set in place strategies and proposals to improve learning environments: to place research at the service of practice.

Education Debates

David Istance's paper is part of Education Debates, a reflection space for teaching professionals and civil society representatives in which to debate the future of education as the driving force for policies on development and social sustainability, future coexistence and the fundamentals of public administration. Organised by the Jaume Bofill Foundation and the UOC.